Everyone's favourite second team...

The inspiration for this blog came during the build up to a recent Champions League game, when drinking with the visiting team's fans, my mate was asked "which other English teams do you like?", a question which raised more questions than answers...

Football is often associated with tribal behaviour, a complete bias and perhaps the playground style taunts of my team is better than yours.

But speak to most people and they'll have a team whose results they look for next in the papers, or even the ground they'll pop along to on international weekends (a habit adopted by Non League Day with great success). Walk around a UEFA game and you'll see half-and-half scarves, look back in time and you'll see the bobble hats that are half Liverpool, half Celtic etc.

Jamal couldn't quite make his mind up

But what constitutes a second team? We all have different reasons. For the fans who grew up in the suburbs but supported the nearest big team, it may be the local lower division side. For the budding players, perhaps the team they once had a trial with... But what about the awkward problem when first love and second team collide?

Cup draws are a fraught time for these people, when the possibility crops up, of Barnet playing Arsenal, or West Ham v Southend? Does the heart rule the head?

This man has about eight 'second' teams

In the countries with more obvious duopolies (Scotland, Spain etc), it is actually pretty much accepted to support one of the big two clubs as well as another club. This weekend's El Clasico will test many things in Spain, not least virtually splitting most of the country into two.

A wonderful example of the two clubs coming together is in the video below, where fans of Scottish team Stranraer have adopted FC Twente on a massive basis, and a huge sharing between the fans of the two clubs. Whether the clubs themselves come together is a different matter, and would certainly be lucrative for Stranraer, but it's a great start.

Does anyone know the Potters Bar score?

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